On The Shore Of Silience

On the Shore of Silence’ is part of an ongoing body of work that explores landscapes that draw reference to sites of historical significance. Within my work I try to place myself in areas both physically and spiritually that ask questions around identity, isolation and mortality. It is in this compromising state that I am drawn to start responding to the natural world. I have been exploring areas along the Australian coastline for many years. Often tracing the history of early settlement and finding historical narratives that become the point of entry into making images pertaining to these selected sites. Cape Grim in Tasmania is a site that I have returned to many times. The dark beauty that surrounds this area has both a disturbing and magnetic energy to it. Reading about the history to this area and drawing from this area has been the platform for the emotive response within my painting. Opposed to a pictorial likeness I vigorously apply paint, pushing, pulling and scraping it around the surface to find a deeper meaning within the painting. I love the physical act of wrestling with paint and canvas, applying paint in an explosive way in order to try and capture the physical qualities of the landscape.

Craig Waddell

2018

oil on linen